Second Chances
by CBloom2
Summary: My own twist on events that may or may not happen in the next few episodes POSSIBLE SPOILERS. I don't want to boys to hate each other so in my world they won't!
1. Chapter 1

**This story could possibly contain spoilers for next few episodes if you haven't read or heard anything about them. **

**I'm going to have to stop having baths as I seem to get nice a relaxed and then something comes to mind and then I can't relax until I've got it down!**

**So this little story is set after Cal and Ethan's soon to be seen fight, but has my own little angsty twist on it - oh and Honey is back and there is bucket loads of dramatic/artistic licence in this - you'll know what I mean.**

**Hope you like it. Usual disclaimer - I don't own anyone you recognise, they belong to the BBC.**

**Second Chances.**

Caleb Knight sat slumped on the sofa where he had been for the last few hours...days really. It had been five days since his massive fight with his brother over the money he had taken, no stolen from him, to help is girlfriends 'charity', only to find out that the charity was a fraudulant one and that his 'girlfriend' was a wanted con artist. To his shame though, the fight with Ethan hadn't just been a slanging match, it had escalated into a full blown fist fight, which only ended when he had his little brother pinned to the floor fighting for breath.

Needless to say, since then they hadn't spoken. Ethan was avoiding him like the plague - not that he blamed him. Luckily he hadn't thrown him out of the flat...yet. He had been signed off from work for two weeks by a sympathetic Zoe because he just couldn't function thanks to a mixture of exhaustion and shame. How could he have been so stupid? No-one could have know what she was, but to take the money from the only family he had left? Ethan had always been the reliable one that he could fall back on and even though the younger man would complain about it, he would always come through. Cal was petrified that this was a step to far.

Suddenly the shrill ringing of his phone pierced the gloomy silence of the flat. He glanced at the ID - Ethan. His stomach actually somersaulted when he read this, "Hey there," he answered carefully.

"Is this Cal?" A woman's voice came back to him. He sat up straighter.

"Yes. Who's this and why do you have my brother's phone?"

"Oh thank goodness...it's Honey."

"Honey? I thought you were away with your Gran."

"I was, I got back yesterday...anyway Cal listen...it's Ethan," her voice cracked slightly as she said his name.

Cal's stomach now clenched, "What about Ethan?" he asked quickly.

On the other end of the phone, he could hear numerous voices, a couple of them barking out orders, "Honey! What about Ethan?"

"Oh Cal, he's been stabbed!"

Cal nearly dropped the phone, "Stabbed? Ethan? What? How?"

"Just get to the hospital - I'll see you there." She ended the call abruptly.

Cal found that he was breathing quickly, desperately trying to drag in big gulps of air. How could his quiet, studious little brother have been stabbed? Oh god, what if he was...?

He jumped to his feet, grabbed his keys and was in his car within a minute.

The fifteen minutes it took to drive to the hospital felt like a lifetime to the anxious older man. He managed to park his car and sprinted into the ED. He saw Charlie and Noel straight away, "Charlie!" he shouted. The nurse spun round and immediately placed a comforting hand on Cal's shoulder, "It's ok Cal," Charlie comforted.

Cal glanced at Noel, confused to see him at such a late hour, "Honey's in with the police," was all he offered. Cal felt guilty then. He had been so taken up with his concern for Ethan that he had forgotten that the young woman was also there, "Is she alright?" he enquired.

"She wasn't hurt thank goodness, but the police wanted a statement."

Cal nodded his acknowledgement.

"Cal."

The young doctor quickly turned to the source of the voice - Zoe. He couldn't make out anything from her expression, "He's stable..." was all she got out before Cal's legs decided that they didn't want to support him any longer. Charlie guided him to one of the chairs, "He's lost a lot of blood," Zoe went on, "But we've repaired the damage and we're in the process of giving him a transfusion, so I'm optomistic that he'll make a full recovery."

Cal ran a hand through his hair, "Thank you Zoe."

"You can go and see him if you'd like...put your mind at rest," Zoe said as she turned to lead him to where his brother was resting.

Cal looked at her and shook his head sadly, "I'm the last person he wants to see."

"Actually Mr Know It All, you were the first person he asked for when he woke up after being sewn back together...so definitely not the last person," Zoe smiled as she once again began to walk away gesturing for Cal to follow. Charlie patted his shoulder as he got up and followed his colleague.

He closed the door quietly behind him, so as not to disturb the younger man, but when he turned round he saw that Ethan was awake anyway, all be it a little drowsy, "Second time in 6 months - perhaps I'll get a ward named after me," Ethan croaked, a smile creasing his face.

Cal took small steps towards the bed, "That's not even funny."

"It is...a little bit funny," Ethan was trying to keep the mood lighter.

"How are you feeling?" Cal asked.

Ethan began to raise the top part of the bed, his face creasing as it pulled on his wound, "Perhaps you should stay flat Eth," Cal suggested.

Ethan shook his head, "I hate having to be flat," he insisted as he then tried to move the pillows so that they were more comfortable. Cal leapt to his aid, making sure the pillows were all in the right place, "Ah that's better," the younger man smiled.

"Have you seen Honey? Is she alright?" Ethan asked anxiously.

"She's talking to the police - Noel said that she wasn't hurt." Ethan blew out a breath he hadn't realised that he had been holding.

Cal was suddenly starting to feel quite uncomfortable, "Look I'll get off now. I just wanted to make sure that you were ok. Honey will be back soon...so I'll just..." he got up only to be stopped by a hand on his arm.

"Stay, please - I need to talk to you," Ethan all but pleaded.

As uncomfortable as he felt at than moment in time, Cal couldn't deny his brother anything, so he stopped, "I'm sorry Cal."

"Huh?" had he heard him correctly?

"I'm sorry for the way I've been towards you lately..." he held his hand up when it looked like Cal wanted to say something, "I could see right from the beginning how you felt about Taylor and you wanted to help the woman that you loved...I should have supported you..." Ethan laid his head back on the pillow taking a steadying breath, "Ethan?"

"I'm ok...just tired. I won't pretend that it didn't hurt that you took the money because it hurt more than anything I've ever experienced before, well until tonight," he smiled at his own attempt at humour, "Knowing that you took the money from my account without my permission...well without sounding to dramatic, it broke my heart. But you're my big brother, my only family in the world and I should've been there for you...so I'm sorry."

Cal felt a lump form in his throat hearing his brother's speech. He felt a tear fall down his face, "Oh god Ethan...I...I was a fool...again, but I was so scared of losing her and in the process I nearly lost you. I hope that one day you can forgive me and learn to trust me again. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make it up to you," he looked at the younger man who now had tears in his own eyes, "There's nothing like a near death experience to make you see what's important. It may take a while to trust you fully again Cal, if I'm honest, but I want to make this work and I will make it work - she's not going to win..." Ethan mentally kicked himself as soon as the words left his mouth. Cal looked confused, "Who's not going to win?"

Ethan closed his eyes and shook his head, "It's nothing...I'm just tired."

"Ethan?" Cal's voice took on a sense of urgency. His brother was hiding something and he needed to know what.

Ethan sighed deeply, causing him to wince slightly. It would be better coming from him - wouldn't it?

"Erm, well, Taylor was at the scene," he stammered.

"Taylor? I thought she was in prison," Cal looked surprised.

"Apparently she was out on bail."

Suddenly a sickening thought came into Cal's head, "Ethan was she the one..." he couldn't even ask him.

Ethan seemed to pale in front of him. That was all he needed to see to know the answer. Cal found himself doubled over in shock, once more trying to drag in oxygen into his lungs, "Cal..." he was aware of his brother's voice but he couldn't focus on it - he couldn't focus on anything. He needed to get out.

With one last snatched glance at his brother, Cal bolted for the door, almost pulling it from it's hinges in his haste to leave the awful truth behind. He was in such a hurry that he nearly knocked Honey down. She watched his retreating back as she quickly made her way into Ethan's room - anxiety written all over her face, "Ethan?"

"He knows - please go after him," the young doctor pleaded.

Honey felt torn for a moment as she had wanted to see Ethan, but seeing how upset he was at seeing his older brother bolt out of the room, she realised that she needed to do as Ethan had asked. With a small smile to the injured man, she spun on her heels and proceeded to follow the distraught doctor.

Ethan fell back onto his pillows knowing that there was nothing more he could do for now. Sleep overtook him quickly after that.

**So this could be a two shot as I am contemplating a chapter where Honey finds Cal. What do you think? Would it be to much angsty drama if I did that? I hope you'll let me know.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I know I didn't get round to thanking you all individually but I want you to know that not only do I love receiving reviews (especially good ones) but I really appreciate you all taking the time to read my little offerings.**

**So here is chapter 2 - a little taste of Honey - I hope I get her kind of right.**

Chapter 2

Honey ran out of the ED as fast as her high heels would let her. She didn't know how, but she just knew that Cal would have gone outside. She was drawn to the side of the car park area by sounds of retching. She took off towards the sound and found the object of her search, who was currently throwing up behind a bench, "Cal?" she said, carefully approaching the stricken young man. On hearing his name, Cal glanced up, wiping his mouth with a tissue that he had found in his pocket. Honey sat down on a bench hoping that Cal would join her, which he did. She smiled slightly at him and began rummaging in her bag, "I know I've got one somewhere...ah here it is," she commented as she pulled a bottle of water out and handed it to Cal. He took it gratefully and rinsed his mouth out, spitting out at the side of him, then taking a couple of big gulps, "Thanks," he breathed, "I'm sorry you saw all that," he said as he dropped his head.

Honey shook her head, "It's ok. You had a shock...well a couple of shocks I suppose."

Cal gave her a half hearted smile, "You could say that. How's Ethan?"

"He's probably asleep now. He sent me after you, but it looked like he was ready to sleep for England!"

Cal glanced towards the hospital anxiously, "He's going to be alright Cal," the young woman assured him.

"I know," he sighed, "But when you called...it was bad enough knowing he had been stabbed - seeing him in Resus again, it's only a few months since the crash and I nearly lost him then! Now this. What has he done to deserve all this? It's all my fault as usual! I let my heart rule my head again - and yet again I made Ethan suffer..." he trailed off as emotion began to close his throat.

Honey laid a hand on his arm, "I know that things haven't always been great between you two, Ethan told me, but he also told me that you were both working really hard at being brothers and friends again and he was loving every minute of it."

"Then I went and ruined it all once again! How could I have been so stupid, so selfish..." Cal ran a hand through his hair, clearly upset.

"He phoned me you know, after he found out about the money. He was angry and upset - but more than that, he was heartbroken that you had thought that your only option was to take the money from him. I know you asked him to help out and he refused, but after we talked for a while, he realised that you had really fallen in love with Taylor and that he should have found a way to support and help you."

"But I should've respected his decision, but instead I once again put a woman before my brother," Cal muttered, sadly.

"After Ethan phoned me, I came back," Honey carried on, "I knew he would regret it if he pushed you away, even if he didn't at the time. We talked and he came to realise how much you must be hurting with everything that had happened and he told me that he should be supporting you not pushing you away, which is how we came to be at the shop tonight..."

Cal looked at her curiously, tears still glistening in his eyes. Honey leaned in and wiped a stray tear from his face, "Ethan had decided that he was going to have a 'making things right with my brother' night - his words," Honey giggled as she recalled the earnest look on Ethan's face once he had made up his mind, "He was buying all your favourite snacks, sweets and beer ready for a dvd night. He wanted to make things right with you...then Taylor turned up."

Honey now had to stop talking as flashbacks from earlier in the night assaulted her. This time Cal laid a comforting hand on her arm, "What happened Honey?"

"We were just coming out of the shop whey she just seemed to appear. Ethan was so shocked, he thought she was still in custody. She began shouting at the top of her voice about how it was all Ethan's fault that she had been arrested - if he hadn't got the police involved when he noticed the money missing, then they never would have got her. Ethan tried to keep calm and explain that what she did was wrong, not just the money but the way she treated you. He told her that you loved her deeply...but she just laughed as told him that that had been the plan as it was just to easy to get the money then. Ethan was shocked to hear that, then he began to get angry...not something you see every day from Ethan," a tear then made its way down Honey's tired face, "She just lunged at him Cal. When she moved away you could see the blood. I screamed and a couple of men from the shop came out and got Taylor and called the police. I looked at Ethan as he started to sink to the ground...I'll never forget the look of shock and disbelief on Ethan's face and how he clung to me as he fell to the ground." She began to cry as Cal pulled her into a close embrace. She sobbed into his chest as he let silent tears track down his cheeks. He had been so close to losing his brother again...it was to much.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, then Honey lifted her head as she wiped her tears away, "I'm sorry...it's been a long night."

Cal wiped his own tears away, "It's fine...why are you smiling?"

Honey hadn't realised that she had started to smile until that moment, "I was just remembering that through all the stuff that happened, as we were sat in the ambulance on our way here, all Ethan could talk about was how upset you would be when you found out what had happened and who had caused it."

Cal put his head in his hands, trying desperately not to cry again. Through all the trauma, his little brother was still more worried about his feelings, "I don't deserve him," he whispered.

"Everyone deserves a second chance Cal - Ethan knew that."

"Honey I've had more than my fair share of second chances, particularly where Ethan is concerned."

"Look at me Cal," she ordered, waiting until the young doctor did just that, "You will always get another chance with Ethan. You are all you've got left and he loves you. He wants you in his life, even if he doesn't always tell you that. It's as plain as day to me!"

Cal lowered his head once more as tears threatened to overwhelm him again.

Suddenly Honey grabbed his hand, "Right, come on, no more tears. Let's get back to Ethan before he wakes up and tears the hospital apart looking for us!"

Cal chuckled as he allowed the smaller woman to pull him to his feet. As they walked steadily towards the hospital, Cal looked at her, "He's lucky to have you Honey."

Honey looked embarrassed, "Officially he hasn't 'got me' yet!"

They both laughed as they disappeared back into the hustle and bustle of the busy hospital, conspiring to make sure that Ethan really did find his Honey.

**That ending was perhaps a little bit cheesy, buy hey, it's fan fiction!**

**I've said it before and I'll say it again, I hope Ethan is going to be supportive of his brother, should the worst happen with Taylor, obviously once he's got over the shock and insane anger he's going to feel when he does find out about the money! We will see.**

**Thank you for reading.**


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